A year-end report card on Trump’s biggest national security headaches

By Jamie McIntyre

Published December 6, 2019 4:00am ET

A year-end report card on Trump’s biggest national security headaches — A Nigerien soldier provides rear security for his squad while they performed a dismounted patrol during Exercise Flintlock 2017 in Diffa, Niger, March 11, 2017. Flintlock exercises strengthen security institutions, promote multilateral sharing of information, and develop interoperability among partner nations in the Trans-Sahara. | U.S. Army photo by Spc. Zayid Ballesteros

As 2019 draws to a close, President Trump faces many of the same vexing national security problems he encountered when he took the oath of office nearly three years ago. Although Trump’s policies represent a dramatic departure from the Obama years in both style and substance, so far, progress has been frustratingly slow on many fronts. Here is an interim year report card on where things stand as we look ahead to the 2020 election.

North Korea